Anglo For Your Ear: Dame Shirley Bassey’s “Diamonds Are Forever”

The film itself was homophobic tripe, but its theme is a true classic, and the reason is clear: the regal vocal bombast of that great Welsh diva, Dame Shirley Bassey. Bask in the sheer lung power of this 1973 performance: she teases the song sinuously at the beginning and then proceeds to break it down.

Get well soon, Dame Shirley: we need more performances like this from you.

Kevin Wicks

Kevin Wicks founded BBCAmerica.com's Anglophenia blog back in 2005 and has been translating British culture for an American audience ever since. While not British himself—he was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri—he once received inordinate hospitality in London for sharing the name of a dead but beloved EastEnders character. His Anglophilia stems from a high school love of Morrissey, whom he calls his "gateway drug" into British culture.